Howdy, I finally took the time to make a one lap video with no identifiers of myself or other drivers.
My lap time was 2:31, in the simulator I can get a 2:07 in the same car so I left a lot out on the track. In the sim there is no break fade and on track I could get 2 or 3 really hard breaking zones before I’d start to experience fade.
My fastest lap on the day was a 2:19 mostly due to the break fade. I have good video of it but the audio is just wind, and the only laps I did with the GoPro on the rear of my car for good sound were pretty casual laps. So I took a casual lap and paired it with the audio.
I’m going back in September for my last outing of the year most likely, then likely working on better breaks and cooling system as I could only get about 5 laps full out before I had heat soak issues and needed to pull into the cold pit to let the car cool off.
Fantastic track, quite technical. I put about 150 laps in the simulator before I went out and I’m glad I did. While there is pretty much nothing to hit, a few off camber turns and a few late apex turns would have thrown me into the weeds otherwise.
I hand drew the circuit layout with the idea of writing notes like corner speed and the like after each session and being able to look at it as a minimap since there’s a couple of corners where you kinda get lost (as in they don’t stick in your memory at all so you have a hard time remembering what comes next) but I didn’t really use it at all. Frankly it would have been a lot more useful to have the list of flags and their meanings written but I’d forget to write it in the note in all the excitement after each session.
The car is really fun to drive but it really could use a little more power for that track, you can see in the video I clearly have time to calmly scratch my face in a lot of the short straightaways. And yeah it was a beautiful sunny day in winter, the temperature was close to 15°C perfect temperature for track driving (in the middle of a week of full rain it really felt like a lot of things came together to make that day one of the best in my life)
Hey if you were disappointed on how your Vette felt on the track maybe your expectations where too high haha, that’s a mean piece of machine right there. I think it’s important to remember to enjoy the event itself over self imposed time targets or placements when you’re just going to a track day with your daily driver
In regards of my car I’m more or less trying to do the upgrades somewhat on the cheap and reversible for now. I swapped over the springs for new stiffer and lower ones, put new gas shocks on it (OEM) to keep it somewhat daily drivable (at first it was annoyingly bouncy but it smoothed out a bit), changed the valve cover gasket that leaked all over the exhaust during the event (not fun seeing faint smoke coming out below the hood after the session ends lol) and this next month I’m changing the sub frame bushings for elastomer ones, installing a sub frame reinforcing plate since this car has a C shaped subframe instead of a rectangular one which causes the body to crack at the transmission tunnel if you track it after stiffening everything else, changing engine and transmission mounts for new slightly more solid ones (I’m pretty sure they’ve never been changed).
The particular engine on this car is actually a Mercedes design from the 80s so the block is actually a really solid platform for mods, in other cars it also came as an 1.8L and 2.0L configuration and even a 1.9 diesel, you can literally stroke the 1.6 to 1.8 by just changing the crankshaft and the pistons with OEM parts. Technically you can also take it 2.0L but it requires some grinding for clearance inside the block and its not as reliable. Oh and it’s also the same engine as the pointer GTI so you can literally throw the cam from that one in for around 15-20 extra HP without needing to do anything else to the car other than maybe adjusting timing a bit.
Sorry I geek out about it because it’s my first car and I’ve wanted to buy it for years. But yeah, for now just suspension stuff, also looking into getting slicks for the trackdays (expensive although they sell used ones on the track’s tire shop), a bucket seat and a 5 point harness to go with it (using a metal bar between the mounting points of the driver and passenger side seat belts).
As far as the engine mods go I’m kinda holding out on that since it’s my daily driver and I don’t want it sitting out in a shop for 6 months, but I’d love to make it into a small rocket 1.8 turbo car that could beat a stock GTI in a straight and take corners like a champ simply because of its 2200 lbs stock weight.
Hell there are even 16v and 20v heads for this engine that are actually not that difficult to adapt if you’re going with a programmable ECU anyways and they help a ton with intake temp and low end power but for now it’s just a pipe dream for me to geek over haha
Frankly until track day I didn’t want to do any mods to the car, I was just restoring it to it’s best self because I loved it but I had the intention to buy a mk6 golf GTI. After the event I’m so enamored with it that I decided to keep it and do all the mods I want to it. I do want it to continue to look as OEM as possible however, if I ever do the engine build I intend to do it in the most sleeper way possible. Imagine if someone in a stock looking fiesta gave you a run for your money in a highway pull hahaha
Sorry my car is one of the few things I’m passionate about so I kinda talk too much when asked about it.
I don’t really follow F1, nor any sports really. I’m more of wanting to compete than watching other people compete kind of guy
I look forward to hearing more about your car! My son and I are big car enthusiasts, but I’m past the age where I want to wrench on a car but am happy to live through other people!
When I was young I had a second generation Mitsubishi Eclipse, the DSM motor could take a lot of punishment and I planned to do a ton of work to it, then I started having kids.
As for my car yeah it’s fast and gets a ton of attention. But I’ve driven a McLaren 650s and I felt like I could tell you the exact shape of every pebble on the road. It was fantastic! And in my sim rig (Moza with VR) I get a lot more communication in the steering than in my Vette. The Vette in the sim is about as lacking though so it’s is a good model.
This winter I’ll consider my options and see what I come up with. Looks like there are used spec Miatas for as little as $8k, not sure what all work it would need but right now that’s feeling like the best option.
But I’m going back to the track in September so clearly the Vette not being as visceral as I want isn’t enough to stop me from enjoying my time on track.
Well once the kids grow old enough they become apprentices, would have loved it if my dad was into motorsport and asked me to help him hahaha
Does the Vette have electric steering? Mine’s hidraulic and I always felt a big difference going from it to a softer electric, most manufacturers tune their electric steering to be soft for comfort. I did notice the stiffer suspension really improved steering feel a ton in that regard, I can feel the road so much more now (which at times gets annoying since the roads I daily are a mess)
Either way comparing the Vette to a Maclaren is kinda unfair, not only because of price but because of what the cars are actually designed for lol
I’d say you should see if there aren’t any events or private courses where you can drive a Miata around a track before you buy one. You know make sure you’ll actually fit in it and enjoy it
Yeah it’s electric, one of the main reasons people track C6s over C7s is the steering.
My son is bigger into motorsports than I am. He reignited my excitement for it that had died out when he was born. He is going to college to be an aerodynamicist and design race cars.
We race in the sim together and he’s still a bit faster than me but I’m catching up! I don’t know that I’ll ever catch him, the advantage of youth is real.
I’ve driven a few Miatas of different generations and there is a surprising amount of room once I get in it. The day after my track day is the 24 hours of lemons and there are always a handful of Miatas there. I’m hoping there will be a few testing that day that I can get a ride in or maybe drive.
At this track the track day drivers are pretty open about that which is cool. Everybody is just excited to talk about and share the experience of their cars.
Hey that’s awesome! Hope he finds his way into a racing team and fulfills his dreams!
And yeah I suggested you test the Miata first because I’d believe there’s a big difference going from a Vette to a Miata in terms of power haha
Oh for sure, I’ll keep the Vette to daily. The MX-5 would be a track only toy. What I missed most was cornering which the Vette lacked in.